Omg! I'll eat crow! Beautiful job by the coaching staff and by the players. Jw3 with fourth straight double double. How about RUI? The Gaels have no answer for him. Both games Rui has dominated the Gaels. Rui had 23 in Spokane and 21 in moraga.

The Zags started the game punching the Gaels in the mouth. Every run Gaels could muster, the Zags beautifully responded. When the zags play there A game they can beat anyone. The Zags will be a top 10 team come Monday. Think about that! We lost so much from last yr and to be a top 10 team the following year? Wow!

Landale was rattled completely by the double team. He looked flustered and nervous whenever the double came. The zags defense beautifully switched all night long.

I have no complaints tonight. None. Go Zags!

23dpg

02-10-2018, 07:57 PM

What a game!
Best in a long time.
Offense was flowing all night but defense was sublime.

CarolinaZagFan

02-10-2018, 07:58 PM

Best game I’ve seen the Zags play this year. Had flashbacks of last season on the defensive end. Keep it up and keep getting better boys!

Zags11

02-10-2018, 07:58 PM

I didn't like the Reffing. It felt one sided. I'm glad zags won anyway.

Smc shot 25% from 3 and the zags at 33%.

The defense was beautiful by the zags. :)

JPtheBeasta

02-10-2018, 07:59 PM

The Zags played pretty much straight-up defense in Spokane. SMC is going to have to go to school now for the tournament. There’s a new sheriff in town, at least for now.

Ezag

02-10-2018, 08:01 PM

WOW, Awesome win. Shut down Landale and Naar. Rui was awesome, team was awesome! Great game plan executed to near perfection

former1dog

02-10-2018, 08:03 PM

The zags defense beautifully switched all night long.

!

The key to the game. Absolutely brilliant coaching move. Can’t say I’ve seen the Zags do a four player defense swioever before. Blown away how awesome that was.

GonzagasaurusFlex

02-10-2018, 08:04 PM

Best game I’ve seen the Zags play this year. Had flashbacks of last season on the defensive end. Keep it up and keep getting better boys!

Yep, the offense was clicking and everyone was locked in on the defensive game plan. Very impressive how Zags rotated once double team on Landale happened.

Take away for this squad is “Wow, look how good we can be on both ends of the court when we bring this kind of intensity and focus.” Norvell showed me a LOT tonight...D, rebounding, toughness. Way to go Zags.

Kong-Kool-Aid

02-10-2018, 08:05 PM

Scary that we rely on SMC being our best win... usually it's them counting on us.

surfmonkey89

02-10-2018, 08:06 PM

Drinking from a chalice of Gael tears.

Tastes kinda bitter.

former1dog

02-10-2018, 08:07 PM

Scary that we rely on SMC being our best win... usually it's them counting on us.

Um, ever heard of Ohio state?

katman50

02-10-2018, 08:09 PM

Great game for the Zags. I actually picked them to lose in Moraga. Great game! Still, I think St Marys is a great team and would like to see them dancing and win, as long as they don't play us.

Bogozags

02-10-2018, 08:09 PM

The Zags played pretty much straight-up defense in Spokane. SMC is going to have to go to school now for the tournament. There’s a new sheriff in town, at least for now.

I prefer to have my crow broiled as it’s better for my heart!!!

Wow! What a game...

Fantastic win...

We still have four games left 2@home & 2on the road...USD & BYU...need to keep our focus!

By the way, the staff had a great game plan...the top three players were taken out of the game...

Super defense!

DixieZag

02-10-2018, 08:10 PM

Just so proud of our team. That performance had as much heart as any I've seen in a long time.

Obviously the "D" was at another level, and wow it would be great to start taking that as an identity. Evolve it.

We just wanted it more, and showed it from the first minute to the last. Even the cynics here really ought to acknowledge the impressive commitment/effort/desire.

Coach is POG, best coaching job in some time.

Rui, can carry us when at his best.

Bigs really stepping up.

I had it dead wrong, happy to eat it. Shows too little faith on my part in the pride this team has in itself.

Excited for them. This is just whacked year with no "elite" teams that are unbeatable. Great year to pull it all together toward the end of the year.

bballbeachbum

02-10-2018, 08:10 PM

doubling Landale off the post feeder, Few's master stroke in this one seemed to me, and doubling hard. all rotations were crisp and SMC was rattled; they expect to exploit the double team, I thought they would too, but no! the double teamer would have to then rotate all the way to the weak corner to complete the rotation on the double team or give up the open 3; don't think it ever happened, giving up that open 3 from the weak corner. will have to check the video but that's pretty incredible D

JIII battled Landale hard to deny and won that battle plenty, but this time the help came from the post feeder defender when Landale got his touches, and wow were they inefficient touches this time

JIII and Zags played the screen roll by digging over the top and recovering, with the roll defender (usually JIII) sagging the middle to slow the dribble, and JIII really a nuisance in there imo mucking up Landale on the roll; Landale slips more screens than the other SMC bigs I remember, did do the old school Bennett moving screen thing a number of times too however

and that's not anything about the O!

Few kicked Bennett's butt in this one

JPtheBeasta

02-10-2018, 08:10 PM

The key to the game. Absolutely brilliant coaching move. Can’t say I’ve seen the Zags do a four player defense swioever before. Blown away how awesome that was.

Please explain the “swioever” :)

bballbeachbum

02-10-2018, 08:12 PM

The Zags played pretty much straight-up defense in Spokane. SMC is going to have to go to school now for the tournament. There’s a new sheriff in town, at least for now.

Yeah baby!
I think the D was the same except after Landale caught the ball; then the big change with the post feed defender doubling immediately and hard, sometimes getting to Landale just as the ball did
wow that was fun to watch! Few

GeorgiaZagFan

02-10-2018, 08:13 PM

Scary that we rely on SMC being our best win... usually it's them counting on us.

,,nationwide the Ohio State win will be considered the Zags best win...but I think this one was more important ...

U Zig, I Zag

02-10-2018, 08:14 PM

I don’t do the game predictions often, mostly superstition. My gut said 12-15+ for GU.

SMC reminds me of some GU teams in the past with solid players and great team play. Then those GU teams would run into an athletic BIG5 team and the athletes (and skill) would be too much. Got that vibe tonight.

The approach to Landale was top notch and you could see it in Randy’s face from the start. I noticed a lot of suggestions to let Landale get his, watch the other guys. Fact is, without Landale they don’t have much and even the suggestion that he wasn’t in play for smc really threw the whole team.

Zags can’t put their guard down going forward.

ZagsObserver

02-10-2018, 08:14 PM

Um, ever heard of Ohio state?

Yep, with their win over Purdue this week they have a real shot of being big 10 champs. WAY better than a win against SMC

GeorgiaZagFan

02-10-2018, 08:20 PM

I didn't like the Reffing. It felt one sided. I'm glad zags won anyway.

The defense was beautiful by the zags. :)

...yes, some of those calls were just atrocious...me AND my TV screen were thankful we had such a big lead that they didn't effect the outcome ....I wish I could sit down with the refs and a video of this game and ask them what a defensive player has to do ....it was almost like they were clueless to the rules of basketball....

Birddog

02-10-2018, 08:21 PM

IMO, Rui had been out of sync the last 3 games or so, but not tonight. He was in the groove with all sorts of moves and shots. Norvell, Perkins, Melson, and Williams were near flawless too, helluva game. Oh yeah, I was happy to see the refs let them play too, it was pretty physical without getting stupid ugly. If Few hadn't taken his foot off the gas with 8 mins to go Zags would have won by 20 or more pretty easily.

kitzbuel

02-10-2018, 08:21 PM

Rui was really solid defensively as well. He held his position against Landale, no mismatch at all.

strikenowhere

02-10-2018, 08:22 PM

Well that was satisfying!

rennis

02-10-2018, 08:23 PM

What a great game, so nice to see the guys execute and play with confidence!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

amaronizag

02-10-2018, 08:23 PM

Somebody pinch me!! Wow. Best D of the year. Gotta hand it to Few and Company for this game plan. Sweet. This is the same team I saw at PK80. Don't know where they've been, just glad they're back. Still not back on 3pt shots, but improved. Didn't like the last 5 minutes of playing not to lose and giving back a chunk of the lead, but otherwise very happy. Just keep this intensity going.

ZagMan in Philly

02-10-2018, 08:25 PM

only 3 turnovers??? Stunning!

jpn17

02-10-2018, 08:27 PM

The Zags played pretty much straight-up defense in Spokane. SMC is going to have to go to school now for the tournament. There’s a new sheriff in town, at least for now.

Looks like the same ol' sheriff to me ;)

23dpg

02-10-2018, 08:28 PM

only 3 turnovers??? Stunning!

That might be a record.

krozman

02-10-2018, 08:30 PM

I think both teams played unlike themselves....... not that I'm complaining this time.

Vanzagger

02-10-2018, 08:30 PM

Drinking from a chalice of Gael tears.

Tastes kinda bitter.

Welcome back

willandi

02-10-2018, 08:32 PM

only 3 turnovers??? Stunning!

4 according to ESPN, still amazing!

Skimhvn

02-10-2018, 08:34 PM

23pts with a loss become 23pts with a win. Just great.

Hoopaholic

02-10-2018, 08:35 PM

4 according to ESPN, still amazing!

We got 3 turnovers in the 9 to 5 minute stretch of first half. Then 1 rest of game

GrizZAG

02-10-2018, 08:39 PM

Home baked refs weren't enough. You could tell early how bad the Zags wanted this game. Great effort and energy in a hostile environment. Game plan was masterful!

Zags11

02-10-2018, 08:48 PM

Man I'm still pumped and happy!

Reborn

02-10-2018, 08:49 PM

Gonzaga 78
St Mary's 65

Yeah! Yippie!!! Awesome!!! Great game Zags! Love 'em. Did they every play some D tonight. Few surprised me by doubling Landale, and it worked. And even though Landale is a great passer, Zags in general cut off the passing lane to cutters. Landale scored 4 points on only 4 shots. Just an incredible game plan by Mark Few and his staff. Zags also cut off Hermanson, as he only scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting. Narr only got 5 points and only 2 assists.

For the Zags Hachimura had 23 again on 10-14 shooting. And 3-3 from the foul line. He got 5 good rebounds. Norvell got 15 and played absolutely great. Got 5 rebounds too and 4 assists. Perkins got 13 and also played an absolutely great game. I felt the best game this year. Zags only had 4 turnovers for the whole game. What inspired me most about Josh was his hustle and toughness, and fight. He was diving for loose ball all night long. He was our leader imo. He set the stage for toughness tonight. Loved his attitude. Way to go Josh. That's who you are. Come out and play that way every night. He also hit some crucial shots. Williams got 13 and 11 boards. Another double-double. He continues to be a leader in toughness as well. He did a great job tonight outdueling Landale. I kind of thought he would. He's a Zag. iF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. This looked like a Zag team tonight, and a damn good one. Melson played a good game, but was in foul trouble most of the night. He did manage to score 8 points on hit 2 of our 7 threes; so I got to give him credit for that. I kind of felt Tillie and Kispert were ineffective tonight.

The Zags did look their best when Hachimura was in. There were times that he and Tille and JW3 played on the floor at the same time and that set up looks good. Tonight Tillie was playing the wing because Rui was killing Pfitzner inside. Fitzner was just unable to guard him. Totally unable. Like we know, we just don't know who the scoring leaders will be. Tonight it was Rui and Zach. With Perkins and JW3 close behind. The offense looked very good most of the night as the Zags played at a much faster pace than they did when they lost to St Mary's last time we played. They scored 78 points and could have scored 85 imo. They really slowed the game down the last 5 minutes, which I didn't really like. I also didn't like the foul discrepancy. St Mary's shot 21 free throws to the Zags' 9. Zags did make 7-9 of them.

This was a huge night for our Zags. They looked so good, especially on D. But the offense was the best that I've seen it in awhile. I loved the pace of the game. The coaches just had such a great plan for this game. The Zags just ended St Mary's 18 game win streak. The longest one in the country. This win, this game, was a confidence builder I believe. The team is finding out who they can be. And it's beautiful to see. And I've said, I've seen it deveolping all along in the last 4 games. I'm talking about the team chemistry and cohesiveness. It's looking so beautiful. I love to see Hachimura when He's smiling. And I love to see the intensity of Mark Few this year. Looks good on him.

I'm really really proud of our team. That was a heck of a win. To go into their place and look as good as we did, and absolutely knock them out. The Zags came out tonight hitting one three after another. I think we must have had 4 of our 7 threes in the first 3 or 4 minutes of the game. I mean we couldn't miss, man. It was beautiful. I also want to thank the Bunnies because I saw their presence felt in this one tonight.

Go Zags!!!

Skimhvn

02-10-2018, 08:59 PM

Can't we see the full game +/-? It says only about 1st half.
http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=197585

Zag_Dad

02-10-2018, 09:02 PM

Scary that we rely on SMC being our best win... usually it's them counting on us.

That’s sill. We beat Ohio State and Creighton. Not too shabby

JPtheBeasta

02-10-2018, 09:02 PM

I prefer to have my crow broiled as it’s better for my heart!!!

Wow! What a game...

Fantastic win...

We still have four games left 2@home & 2on the road...USD & BYU...need to keep our focus!

By the way, the staff had a great game plan...the top three players were taken out of the game...

Super defense!

Indeed. Good win. Relief and happiness. This is a good feeling. I can’t wait for the rubber match in Vegas.

GonzaGAW

02-10-2018, 09:04 PM

- first game, coach didn't know how to coach, according to many, when really it comes down to execution. our players did not that game.
- this time around coach calls for a double team of langdale (to which many of the 'higher thinking board coaches' said was the wrong call) and the team executed plan wonderfully.

- I guess now Bennett is a poor coach, because his team did not execute well at all out of the double team. had his team executed properly, could have been a close game.

- I guess my point is, players got to play, when they do they and their coaches look great.

- good job team, go zags.

Zag Man

02-10-2018, 09:05 PM

I had this one all wrong, as I thought St. Mary’s was just too disciplined and Jake Landale too good for Gonzaga to beat.

Gonzaga played their best game in a long time. Their defense was really solid and it seemed like the Gaels struggled in every possession to score.

Congrats to Josh Perkins, who played the point solidly and made the right play almost all night. He played a magnificent game!

JW3 was dominant in the paint and played with intensity that makes him a unique player.

Finally, it was so much fun watching Rui work his magic in the game. He is an amazing player who is just starting to see his full potential. Rui is going to get better and better and that’s bad news for the other WCC teams.

CdAZagFan

02-10-2018, 09:06 PM

Who would have thought we would have had to stress as we watched games against Pacific, San Diego, et al - and yet this one after the first few minutes of the second half was fairly stress free? They came out of both halves with an intensity and confidence I haven't seen in them for awhile. If they can capture that intensity - especially in the WCC tourney - it will bode well in March.

Hoopaholic

02-10-2018, 09:09 PM

- first game, coach didn't know how to coach, according to many, when really it comes down to execution. our players did not that game.
- this time around coach calls for a double team of langdale (to which many of the 'higher thinking board coaches' said was the wrong call) and the team executed plan wonderfully.

- I guess now Bennett is a poor coach, because his team did not execute well at all out of the double team. had his team executed properly, could have been a close game.

- I guess my point is, players got to play, when they do they and their coaches look great.

- good job team, go zags.

Perfect. Thank you

bballbeachbum

02-10-2018, 09:19 PM

- first game, coach didn't know how to coach, according to many, when really it comes down to execution. our players did not that game.
- this time around coach calls for a double team of langdale (to which many of the 'higher thinking board coaches' said was the wrong call) and the team executed plan wonderfully.

- I guess now Bennett is a poor coach, because his team did not execute well at all out of the double team. had his team executed properly, could have been a close game.

- I guess my point is, players got to play, when they do they and their coaches look great.

- good job team, go zags.

I'll give the coaches a ton of credit here too, not just the players though they have to execute
adjusting the D to doubling, something SMC dares you to do, and doing it all night off the post feeder...so awesome! tactical brilliance and it rattled Landale, and even Bennett imo
on not thinking a scrambling D would be effective against SMC...guilty!

ZagsGoZags

02-10-2018, 09:31 PM

Of course I am gloating. Overjoyed. We are starting to gell just like the team did the year of the HBO special. What a great time for us to be coming together. Kispert just needs more PT, he still has some of that Frosh nervousness that won't be here next year - when he will blow up. I predict. I was a little disappointed in Few that we kept our best players on the floor through 2 minutes from the end. Even against Bennett's bench. I know he didn't want a 3 pt barrage to risk losing our lead, but sportsmanship is also important, and not rubbing in a win. Maybe I am wrong, I didn't check carefully who was on the floor in the last two minutes.

sittingon50

02-10-2018, 09:36 PM

Thanks Rad. That IS a great article!

willandi

02-10-2018, 09:37 PM

Congrats to Josh Perkins, who played the point solidly and made the right play almost all night. He played a magnificent game!

5 assists and 2 turnovers, one of which was an amazingly stupid, no look pass, out of bounds to the baseline corner, over (I think) Melsons head.

roxdoc

02-10-2018, 09:40 PM

First game was a terrible game plan and on top of that the players shot terribly. So we decided to go to plan B, referred to in the post game interview as the Lloyd-Few plan - just a terrific plan and the players got right into it.

thespywhozaggedme

02-10-2018, 09:41 PM

[QUOTE=Radbooks;1359288]Great article on CBS sports about the game:

So yeah, Gonzaga's really freaking good again (https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/so-yeah-gonzagas-really-freaking-good-again-and-demands-your-attention-immediately/)[/QUO

Thanks for posting that. Great article!

jpn17

02-10-2018, 09:44 PM

Of course I am gloating. Overjoyed. We are starting to gell just like the team did the year of the HBO special. What a great time for us to be coming together. Kispert just needs more PT, he still has some of that Frosh nervousness that won't be here next year - when he will blow up. I predict. I was a little disappointed in Few that we kept our best players on the floor through 2 minutes from the end. Even against Bennett's bench. I know he didn't want a 3 pt barrage to risk losing our lead, but sportsmanship is also important, and not rubbing in a win. Maybe I am wrong, I didn't check carefully who was on the floor in the last two minutes.

I don't think it was a big deal, Gonzaga only scored 6 points the final 9 minutes of the game. If I had one bad thing to say about tonight, it's that IMO they started to slow things down too early with the big lead. Obviously Saint Mary's never even came close to making it a game down the stretch, so it's a very minor issue, but I still would have preferred that Gonzaga push the tempo for a few minutes more than they did.

CDC84

02-10-2018, 10:47 PM

As I said several times before tonight's tussle, St. Mary's was overdue for a loss. The 19 game winning streak was bound to come to an end - especially because it was mainly based on the Gael's schedule. Moreover, they were lucky to get out of Pacific and USD with wins.

St. Mary's was beyond tentative to start the game. Much like Purdue was with their massive winning streak when they played Ohio State this week. But this game wasn't a blow out because SMC didn't come ready to play. Gonzaga just destroyed them with their defense. If you would've told me that Landale would only score 4 points and only attempt 4 FG's all game I would've said "you're crazy." Not only were the double teams vicious, what really made it work was that Gonzaga's close out recovery was amazing tonight. Keep in mind that going into this game SMC was one of the best 3 pt. shooting teams in D-1 ball at 42.1%. Tonight they went 5-20 from 3 despite all the attention played to Landale. Holding Hermanson to 3 points really helped. He had no easy threes.

If you look at these two teams (ranked 12 and 11 in the polls), the key difference that really stands out is that GU was #23 in defensive efficiency going into this game, while SMC was at #100. The Gaels are kind of the west coast, less talented version of Duke in that way. After tonight's win, Gonzaga now joins Michigan State and Purdue as the only teams who are in the top 20 in offensive AND defensive efficiency. That is not to be taken lightly.

Tonight was clearly the best game GU has played since Washington. I just wish the Zags could have that dang San Diego State loss back. It's killing them. The other 3 defeats are all understandable, although if Silas Melson could've just hit that one foul shot (he's an 89% shooter), GU would've beaten Florida and would've gotten a crack at Duke.

The Zags MUST remain sharp against the terrible Los Angeles schools next week. They need to compete against themselves. Senior night will be emotional as usual (JW3 - what a transfer, huh?). I am glad GU has an easy opponent. The last weekend of WCC play will be a brutal road trip to San Diego (still the 4th best WCC team) and BYU. The Toreros only lost to St. Mary's by 3 at the Slim Gym. I won't be simple. Heck, the game against USD at the Kennel wasn't simple. The Marriott Center in Provo is going to have its usual insane crowd. I wouldn't read much into BYU almost losing at home to USF tonight. Haws is really starting to emerge as a huge force within the WCC. The Zags had some issues stopping him in game one. They must defend him better. I know the Gaels looked bad tonight, but the win streak is over, and SMC will now be rejuvenated and refreshed. SMC is likely not going to lose another game before Vegas, so GU must win out.

If Gonzaga can win their next four games, and play well in those games, I have a good feeling the Zags will win the WCC tourney and be placed in the subregional in Boise. Unfortunately, the RPI discrepancy between GU and SMC might be too much for the Zags to get the top seed for Vegas, even if they win out. SMC was at #22 going into tonight's game. GU was at #50. The league needs to seriously consider switching the RPI rating with the Pomeroy rating for its final tiebreaker. As we know, the NCAA committee doesn't really care about a team's individual RPI per se. Teams with RPI's in the 20's have missed the tourney plenty of times. They use it to see how a team did against the RPI top 25, the RPI top 50 and so on. The only reason why SMC was at #22 before tonight's game is that Gonzaga has played six teams who are better than any teams SMC has faced all year besides Gonzaga (Ohio State, Florida, Texas, Creighton, Villanova, and UW). No way SMC goes 6-0 through that pack of teams. They couldn't even beat UGA and WSU on a neutral court. New Mexico State was their only good non-league win, and it was at McKeon. Moreover, SMC's superior RPI ranking is also based on them spending more money to get better guarantee games at McKeon Pavilion. It just so happens that it allows them to rig the RPI as well. Whereas GU uses these games to generate greater program revenue and to get some relief from their relentless non-league schedule. I don't want to sound as if I am disrespecting SMC. They are a better team than they showed tonight. They beat Gonzaga at the Kennel. But the league really should not be using a team's RPI ranking as a tiebreaker. There are so many things that go into a teams RPI ranking besides just how good they are. You shouldn't be getting a #1 seed because you scheduled and beat a #151 RPI team and the other team scheduled a #323 RPI team. A great team is going to beat anyone ranked 151 through 323.

jpn17

02-11-2018, 01:52 AM

I agree, the RPI is too easy to rig in your favor, Saint Mary's has been doing it for awhile. Hell the whole Mountain West does it. How many times over the years has the Mountain West gotten 3-5 teams into the tournament, with a bunch of teams in the teens and 20's because they'd game the system only to have maybe one of those at best make it to the second weekend. If Gonzaga and Saint Mary's both win out, GU will finish ahead of Saint Mary's in: BPI, Sagarin, Kenpom, SoS, SoR and the polls but will almost assuredly lose the tiebreaker because of RPI. It's sad, but as always, if Gonzaga wins the WCC tournament it's always more fun if they go through both SMC and BYU to do it.

CDC84

02-11-2018, 02:30 AM

I know. It's one of the reasons why you RARELY saw Mountain West Conference schools play teams from the Big 12 or Big Ten. Maybe they would schedule one game vs. a team like Boston College, Penn State or Ole Miss. Just play a bunch of teams with RPI's in the low 100's, stay at home, win all the games. Then you have 8 teams with top 50 RPI's when league play begins. Inevitably 3-5 teams will emerge from the mess with enough top 25 RPI wins, enough top 50 RPI wins, etc., to land 3-5 bids. The problem with the WCC is that the middle of the pack teams don't win enough games against teams they can or should beat to rig the RPI. Even in the best of seasons.

I could be wrong about this, though. Realtimerpi.com says after tonight's game that Gonzaga moved up to #37, while SMC is now at #29.

Gonzaga's remaining sked:

LMU #279
Pepperdine #331
@San Diego #158
@BYU #74

SMC's remaining sked:

@San Francisco #167
@Portland #250
Pepperdine #331
Santa Clara #268

jazzdelmar

02-11-2018, 03:42 AM

Kudos to Few for 2 things I thought I would never see: Norvell's endless leash, and playing Rui all over the floor, even at the 3 and against Naar. Never thought I would see anyone after Ammo get that kind of license (he does take some real bad shots), and Rui's natural pro position is the 3 and the notion that Few is playing a 6-8 killer there and elsewhere is mind boggling. So, big ups to MF.

TexasZagFan

02-11-2018, 04:25 AM

Kudos to Few for 2 things I thought I would never see: Norvell's endless leash, and playing Rui all over the floor, even at the 3 and against Naar. Never thought I would see anyone after Ammo get that kind of license (he does take some real bad shots), and Rui's natural pro position is the 3 and the notion that Few is playing a 6-8 killer there and elsewhere is mind boggling. So, big ups to MF.

IMO, Corey and Zach have been given the license to shoot. You're right about Rui's natural position being the 3. That's why I think he comes back next year, to develop as a full time 3. Unless he averages 20+ a game the rest of the year and has at least one great game in the Dance. There are probably 15-20 teams that could draft him on potential, and as a marketing piece. Japan's a pretty big market.

Zagger

02-11-2018, 04:29 AM

YeeHaw! I knew the Zags could do it. Just didn't know it'd look so good :) My grinning face hurt looking at a 22-5 score on TV! The team began putting it to the Geals right off the bat with J3's win of the jump ball against Jock ... and then a 3 from Perks. Just plain WOW. That was ZAG! With last night's game I'm betting the guys make the NCAA 16 tomorrow (today). Pretty impressive away game wins this season. Go Zags!

jazzdelmar

02-11-2018, 04:34 AM

IMO, Corey and Zach have been given the license to shoot. You're right about Rui's natural position being the 3. That's why I think he comes back next year, to develop as a full time 3. Unless he averages 20+ a game the rest of the year and has at least one great game in the Dance. There are probably 15-20 teams that could draft him on potential, and as a marketing piece. Japan's a pretty big market.

Yea, I am not yet sold on the advisability of giving Kispert that license. Chucks it up a lot, seems rushed; and he's a far better driver and clean up around the rim player. He should watch hours and hours of John Havlicek tape and aspire. Norvell chucks as well, but seems a tad more accurate and smooth and his drive is superior. Both he and Rui are developing into major P5 level talents.

Murphy outgo lifer

02-11-2018, 05:27 AM

The problem with the WCC is that the middle of the pack teams don't win enough games against teams they can or should beat to rig the RPI. Even in the best of seasons.

Gonzaga's remaining sked:

LMU #279
Pepperdine #331
@San Diego #158
@BYU #74

Man Pepperdine and LMU are awful. Is Marty or Dunlap's seats hot yet?

I like Dunlap as he has had a lot of success as a coach but mostly in Division 2 and 3 but winning everywhere he has been (besides his 1 NBA year with the Bobcats). However, this is his 4th season and where he should be showing some improvement he has put one of the worst college basketball teams out there at 279 out of 351 (his Ken Pom ranking is better at 233). His total record is 45–72 (.384) with his worst year being an 8-23 record his first year which he could easily match this year with their remaining schedule. He has brought in some interesting freshman:

Eli Scott 6-5 224 SF and was rated the 97th best SF in the 2017 class according to 247 Currently Avg 13.2 PPG and 7.2 RPB

Zafir Williams 6-6 254 PF and was rated the 79th best PF in the 2017 class according to ESPN Currently Avg 6.1 PPG and 3.6 RPB

Donald Gipson 6-3 197 G and was rated the 70th best SF in the 2016 class according to ESPN Currently Avg 3.4 PPG and 1.3 RPB

Mikail Simmons 6-8 212 F No Ranking Currently Avg 2.1 PPG and 1.6 RPB

Joe Quintana 6-2 164 PG and was rated the 81st best PG in the 2017 class according to ESPN Currently Avg 2.1 PPG and 0.6 RPB

Good size and decent rankings for a WCC School.

They only have 1 commit for 2018 so far:

Dameane Douglas 6-6 and rated a 2 star prospect by verbal commits but I cannot not find anything else on him.

Marty Wilson is in his 7th year with Pepperdine and has an overall record of 89–135 (.397). He had some really promising years in his 4th and 5th years but has drastically regressed the last two years going a combined 13-44 (.22). He has had some unfortunate runs with injuries and has brought in some decent prospects but his ranking of 331 is literally one of the worst in college basketball (his Ken Pom is slightly better at 305). He is no longer a new coach trying to turn things around but is rather slipping further and further away from relevancy. His 2017 recruits were:

Jade Smith 6-4 175 PG and was rated the 60th best PG in the 2017 class according to ESPN Currently Avg 4.3 PPG and 2.8 RPB and 1.3 APG

Colbey Ross 6-1 180 PG and was rated the 76th best PG in the 2017 class according to ESPN Currently Avg 14.4 PPG and 3 RPB and 5.7 APG

Kessler Edwards 6-7 185 SF and is rated the 54nd best SF in the 2018 class according to 247

They have had some decent recruits the last several years:

2016 Craig Lecesne 6-8 175 F and was rated the 72nd best SF in the 2016 class according to 247 No longer with the team

2015 Kameron Edwards 6-6 230 SF and was rated the 52nd best PF in the 2015 Class according to ESPN Currently Avg 14.7 PPG and 6.2 RPB and 5.7 APG

2014 Nate Gehring 6-10 220 C and was rated the 72nd best PF in the 2015 Class according to ESPN No longer with the team

2014 A.J. John 6-7 210 PF and was rated the 102nd best PF in the 2015 Class according to ESPN No longer with the team

He has had some talent but he has never really done anything with it and they definitely do not seem to be on the up-swing.

Curious to hear whether you guys think these universities will hire someone new or stick with what they have.

GonzagasaurusFlex

02-11-2018, 06:09 AM

Gonzaga 78
St Mary's 65

Yeah! Yippie!!! Awesome!!! Great game Zags! Love 'em. Did they every play some D tonight. Few surprised me by doubling Landale, and it worked. And even though Landale is a great passer, Zags in general cut off the passing lane to cutters. Landale scored 4 points on only 4 shots. Just an incredible game plan by Mark Few and his staff. Zags also cut off Hermanson, as he only scored 3 points on 1-6 shooting. Narr only got 5 points and only 2 assists.

For the Zags Hachimura had 23 again on 10-14 shooting. And 3-3 from the foul line. He got 5 good rebounds. Norvell got 15 and played absolutely great. Got 5 rebounds too and 4 assists. Perkins got 13 and also played an absolutely great game. I felt the best game this year. Zags only had 4 turnovers for the whole game. What inspired me most about Josh was his hustle and toughness, and fight. He was diving for loose ball all night long. He was our leader imo. He set the stage for toughness tonight. Loved his attitude. Way to go Josh. That's who you are. Come out and play that way every night. He also hit some crucial shots. Williams got 13 and 11 boards. Another double-double. He continues to be a leader in toughness as well. He did a great job tonight outdueling Landale. I kind of thought he would. He's a Zag. iF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. This looked like a Zag team tonight, and a damn good one. Melson played a good game, but was in foul trouble most of the night. He did manage to score 8 points on hit 2 of our 7 threes; so I got to give him credit for that. I kind of felt Tillie and Kispert were ineffective tonight.

The Zags did look their best when Hachimura was in. There were times that he and Tille and JW3 played on the floor at the same time and that set up looks good. Tonight Tillie was playing the wing because Rui was killing Pfitzner inside. Fitzner was just unable to guard him. Totally unable. Like we know, we just don't know who the scoring leaders will be. Tonight it was Rui and Zach. With Perkins and JW3 close behind. The offense looked very good most of the night as the Zags played at a much faster pace than they did when they lost to St Mary's last time we played. They scored 78 points and could have scored 85 imo. They really slowed the game down the last 5 minutes, which I didn't really like. I also didn't like the foul discrepancy. St Mary's shot 21 free throws to the Zags' 9. Zags did make 7-9 of them.

This was a huge night for our Zags. They looked so good, especially on D. But the offense was the best that I've seen it in awhile. I loved the pace of the game. The coaches just had such a great plan for this game. The Zags just ended St Mary's 18 game win streak. The longest one in the country. This win, this game, was a confidence builder I believe. The team is finding out who they can be. And it's beautiful to see. And I've said, I've seen it deveolping all along in the last 4 games. I'm talking about the team chemistry and cohesiveness. It's looking so beautiful. I love to see Hachimura when He's smiling. And I love to see the intensity of Mark Few this year. Looks good on him.

I'm really really proud of our team. That was a heck of a win. To go into their place and look as good as we did, and absolutely knock them out. The Zags came out tonight hitting one three after another. I think we must have had 4 of our 7 threes in the first 3 or 4 minutes of the game. I mean we couldn't miss, man. It was beautiful. I also want to thank the Bunnies because I saw their presence felt in this one tonight.

Go Zags!!!

My favorite post of this thread; thanks for hitting all the nails on the head Reborn.

The great defensive gameplan & execution, Josh’s toughness, and the hot shooting start from 3 all set the Gaels on their heels from tip-off and got the Zags’ confidence soaring. The other wrinkle not mentioned as often in this thread but one you saw too, Reborn, was Zags going extended minutes with the big lineup of JWIII, Tillie and Rui. I love that lineup and believe we will see more of it in the biggest games for remainder of season (assuming no foul trouble prevents it).

If you take this Zags performance and add in a little more impactful game from Tillie + better shooting from 3 by Kispert, WOWSER!!

gonstu

02-11-2018, 06:09 AM

Seemed like Josh attacked the basket more - I liked it.

MileHigh

02-11-2018, 06:10 AM

Man Pepperdine and LMU are awful

Curious to hear whether you guys think these universities will hire someone new or stick with what they have.

I have heard that Wilson told his team that he expects to be fired at seasons end. Odd that a coach would do that. Maybe trying to motivate his kids?

Murphy outgo lifer

02-11-2018, 06:20 AM

I have heard that Wilson told his team that he expects to fired at seasons end. Odd that a coach would do that. Maybe trying to motivate his kids?

Interesting. Yes, that is very odd. My guess is he would not throw that out there unless he was sure it was going to happen.

Zagceo

02-11-2018, 06:45 AM

Game was tied for 11 sec......what a dominate performance.

energy was electric ....Zach Tillie Perkins Rui J3 all had shots rejected around the rim..but didn’t stop them from attack mode...loved the effort.

Zagsker

02-11-2018, 08:07 AM

Never realized how jacked up Naar shot is

TexasZagFan

02-11-2018, 08:07 AM

I have heard that Wilson told his team that he expects to fired at seasons end. Odd that a coach would do that. Maybe trying to motivate his kids?

More like a mercy killing. Pepperdine hasn't given him much support, and the decision to not improve their facilities was a death sentence.

I am back after many years of Holy Silence and mind evaluation in El Segundo, but never too far away to read about and view many SMC basketball games. Today I returned .
When I left many years ago, Patty Mills had been hurt ( deliberately I believe ) by a brute from Gonzaga. For the games that SMC had remaining that year Coach Bennett guided the Gaels in a manner as though Patty was still in the line up. Silly Rabbit.

That same one note coaching was observed tonight at the gym. Joch " stunk on ice " along with most of the team.
I am not a basketball coach, but I hope that Joch and Coach Bennett can make adjustments at the half. The adjustments did not arrive in time tonight.

It's time to face facts.

We are Not a Mid-Major powerhouse. We are nice bunch of fellows that can beat up on the Sister's of the Poor, but can not play with the Big Boys.

We were embarrassed badly. Those Bulldog A-holes jumped up and down at center court and mocked the Gaels !

Wake Up.

Get Pissed.

Or just go back to what always happens......win the games that do not matter....USF, Pepperdine and loose to the Bulldogs.

We are Not a Mid-Major......the WCC is run by Gonzaga and the rest of the league is weak sauce , a pretender to the crown.

honestly, that post seemed to me more like one of ours running an ill-advised and poorly executed false flag operation. that doesn't sound like someone who loves their team/school and is just frustrated (lord knows we see plenty of that here, at times)-- that sounds like a jerk pretending to be a friend.

TimberZag

02-11-2018, 10:02 AM

“Uh do we have the flu or something?”

“Gu’s blue collar bang it up Spokane style really showed. I want those dudes drug tested to see if they got some stimulant or shots of epinephrine before this game.

THIS GAME MAKES NO SENSE!!!!”

“St Marys came out looking like they just wanted to play and share milkshakes with Zag players after the game.

Gonzaga came out with desperation as if the city of spokane would fall apart if they lost.

St. Marys needs to hire a team psychologist or something. The dudes just dont get how big some games really are.“

I watched this game and thought throughout that Mark Few remembered a painful game from his past and decided to give Randy a dose of the same medicine.
http://www.gozags.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/112704aaa.html

BayAreaZagFan

02-11-2018, 11:06 AM

honestly, that post seemed to me more like one of ours running an ill-advised and poorly executed false flag operation. that doesn't sound like someone who loves their team/school and is just frustrated (lord knows we see plenty of that here, at times)-- that sounds like a jerk pretending to be a friend.

I actually watched the game at a bar sitting next to a St Mary's fan (that I didn't know) and he had a pretty realistic attitude. He said he was surprised by their win at the Kennel, and he said that he really started to buy into the hype over the past few weeks, but after watching the game, he realizes that the Gaels aren't quite there and probably were ranked too high. He's happy that everyone considers St Mary's to be Gonzaga's biggest rival, he said it helps to give the program more stature, but he wishes they had an identity other than "that one team that can beat Gonzaga once in a while". I bought him a beer.

DixieZag

02-11-2018, 11:23 AM

That was a really idiotic post on the Gael board, which has some really good people on it and overall is a strong (though small) board that I respect.

I am really going to miss JWIII's put back, and drop step, power slams when he is gone.

I am back after many years of Holy Silence and mind evaluation in El Segundo, but never too far away to read about and view many SMC basketball games. Today I returned .
When I left many years ago, Patty Mills had been hurt ( deliberately I believe ) by a brute from Gonzaga. For the games that SMC had remaining that year Coach Bennett guided the Gaels in a manner as though Patty was still in the line up. Silly Rabbit.

That same one note coaching was observed tonight at the gym. Joch " stunk on ice " along with most of the team.
I am not a basketball coach, but I hope that Joch and Coach Bennett can make adjustments at the half. The adjustments did not arrive in time tonight.

It's time to face facts.

We are Not a Mid-Major powerhouse. We are nice bunch of fellows that can beat up on the Sister's of the Poor, but can not play with the Big Boys.

We were embarrassed badly. Those Bulldog A-holes jumped up and down at center court and mocked the Gaels !

Wake Up.

Get Pissed.

Or just go back to what always happens......win the games that do not matter....USF, Pepperdine and loose to the Bulldogs.

We are Not a Mid-Major......the WCC is run by Gonzaga and the rest of the league is weak sauce , a pretender to the crown.

The comment above was more outlier than consensus..]

I imagine the Gaels fans will be fine if he goes back to his years of Holy Silence.

TravelinZag

02-11-2018, 01:36 PM

Believe that the win tied Coach Few’s lowest win total for a year (23), and virtually guarantees he’ll once again have 25+ wins. Good on ya, Coach!

Zag_Dad

02-11-2018, 06:57 PM

]

I imagine the Gaels fans will be fine if he goes back to his years of Holy Silence.

Can our mods ban that clown from GIAG for them?

CDC84

02-11-2018, 07:01 PM

Whatever happened to Pepperdine's plan to build a new gym?? Firestone Pavilion is beyond old.

Facilities mean a great deal. I am telling you.....you are going to see a resurgence in DePaul's program now that they FINALLY have a 10,000 seat, state of the art arena right in the city instead of playing in a 17,000 seat dump outside of Chicago in the suburbs where they had to pay rent.

willandi

02-11-2018, 07:25 PM

Whatever happened to Pepperdine's plan to build a new gym?? Firestone Pavilion is beyond old.

Facilities mean a great deal. I am telling you.....you are going to see a resurgence in DePaul's program now that they FINALLY have a 10,000 seat, state of the art arena right in the city instead of playing in a 17,000 seat dump outside of Chicago in the suburbs where they had to pay rent.

I read that after getting the money, they bought a surfboard waxing machine and a chair lift from the campus to the beach instead!

Just kidding!

TexasZagFan

02-11-2018, 07:25 PM

Can our mods ban that clown from GIAG for them?

Let him be. He’s just venting after a particularly bitter defeat for the Gaels. Give him, and others, a couple of days to reflect.

IMO, too many fans focus on the destination instead of the journey. The law of averages was against them, considering they were on a school record win streak. The season is not over, and the Zags have a really tough road trip in two weeks.